In detail

Humanities

Award winners: Guy Cook and Alison SealeyInstitutions: King’s College London and University of BirminghamValue: £249,951

People, products, pests and pets: the discursive representation of animals

This project will examine how language choices realise specific stances towards animals. Findings will inform public debates on the ethics of industrial farming, animal experiments, hunting and the balance between economic and conservationist criteria in decision-making. They will provide evidence about whether current ways of speaking and writing contribute to, or detract from, positive action in sustaining the coexistence of humans and animals. The researchers hope the project will deepen the theoretical understanding of the relationship between the linguistic system of English, choices made within it and representations of animals, as well as illuminating the degree to which established ways of talking and writing are attuned to describing the rapidly changing environment in which humans and animals coexist.

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